Programming language
About A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine, to express algorithms precisely, or as a mode of human communication. Without any programming language all devices are nothing more than an expensive paper weight waiting for these devices to be told what to do. Programming languages are the "code" that tells the machines "what" we want it to do. Standard library Most programming languages have an associated core library (sometimes known as the 'standard library', especially if it is included as part of the published language standard), which is conventionally made available by all implementations of the language. Core libraries typically include definitions for commonly used algorithms, data structures, and mechanisms for input and output. A language's core library is often treated as part of the language by its users, although the designers may have treated it as a separate entity. Many language specifications define a core that must be made available in all implementations, and in the case of standardized languages this core library may be required. The line between a language and its core library therefore differs from language to language. Indeed, some languages are designed so that the meanings of certain syntactic constructs cannot even be described without referring to the core library. History The first programming languages predate the modern computer. The 19th century had "programmable" looms and player piano scrolls which implemented what are today recognized as examples of domain-specific languages. By the beginning of the twentieth century, punch cards encoded data and directed mechanical processing. In the 1930s and 1940s, the formalisms of Alonzo Church's lambda calculus and Alan Turing's Turing machines provided mathematical abstractions for expressing algorithms; the lambda calculus remains influential in language design. In the 1940s, the first electrically powered digital computers were created. The first high-level programming language to be designed for a computer was Plankalkül, developed for the German Z3 by Konrad Zuse between 1943 and 1945. However, it was not implemented until 1998 and 2000. Programmers of early 1950s computers, notably UNIVAC I and IBM 701, used machine language programs, that is, the first generation language (1GL). 1GL programming was quickly superseded by similarly machine-specific, but mnemonic, second generation languages (2GL) known as assembly languages or "assembler". Later in the 1950s, assembly language programming, which had evolved to include the use of macro instructions, was followed by the development of "third generation" programming languages (3GL), such as FORTRAN, LISP, and COBOL. 3GLs are more abstract and are "portable", or at least implemented similarly on computers that do not support the same native machine code. Updated versions of all of these 3GLs are still in general use, and each has strongly influenced the development of later languages. At the end of the 1950s, the language formalized as ALGOL 60 was introduced, and most later programming languages are, in many respects, descendants of Algol. The format and use of the early programming languages was heavily influenced by the constraints of the interface. Code In 2008, Programming Language Popularity cited the 10 most cited programming languages are (in alphabetical order): *C *C++ *C# *Java *JavaScript *Perl *PHP *Python *Ruby *SQL The "hello, world" example, which appeared in the first edition of The C Programming Language (book), has become the model for an introductory program in most programming textbooks, regardless of programming language. The program prints "hello, world" to the standard output, which is usually a terminal or screen display. The original version was: main() { printf("hello, world\n"); } Lastly, a Code monkey is a computer programmer or other person who writes computer code for a living. This term may be slightly derogatory, meaning that this developer can write some code but is unable to (or not supposed to) perform the more complex tasks of software architecture, analysis, and design. It is usually applied to junior programmers. Anyways, start programming and have some fun!--BiomedGuy 21:07, May 1, 2011 (UTC) Compiler A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms (converts) source code written in a programming language (the source language) into computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code). The most common reason for wanting to transform source code is to create an executable program and now run your device using programmable chips and other electronic components. References Links *Computer_science Portal *Programming Language *C/C++ Programming Forum See also Category:Programming